A hyperactive debut novel of teen rebellion by a writer who watched too much MTV. When Andrea is a Portland, Oreg., high school sophomore, her friend Cybil calls her from the mall one day, frantic because she has shaved her head and it looks awful. Cybil then forms a rock band and begins to infiltrate the local music scene. At the same time, Andrea first lays eyes on Todd, a rock guru and all-round cute guy. Initially, Andrea is somewhat involved in high school goings-on and dates a popular older jock, but she begins to rebel by going to clubs to see Cybil's band (first named Bed Head, then Thriftstore Apocalypse, and finally Sins of Our Fathers) and buying vintage clothing. Andrea narrates her story (which reads like a diary, although it is not marked as such) breathlessly, and that energy is exhausting as she details all the superficial particulars of her life but fails to comment much on her own emotional state. One of Andrea's happiest moments comes when Cybil steers her and a friend to a clothing store called HOP!, ``the coolest place.'' Occasionally there are astute naãve-narrator insights (``the whole fun of high school is that everything is supposed to be everybody's business''), but more often than not, Andrea's teenspeak sounds like a bad Valley Girl parody (``And she tried to be cool but we were both like, Derek and Jonathan are gay!''). Nelson (who has written for Details magazine) does manage to cover early sexual experiences (both voluntary and involuntary) in a natural way, but Andrea's all-consuming crush on Todd is a drag on forward momentum, and Cybil—supposedly the narrator's closest friend—remains a cipher for much of the story. This may appeal more to the young- adult market, but those readers are sure to be extremely sensitive to any slips in authenticity. Like, not so great. (First serial to Sassy)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-671-89707-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1994
Themes of freedom and responsibility twine between the lines of this short but heavy novel from the author of Because of Winn-Dixie (2000). Three months after his mother's death, Rob and his father are living in a small-town Florida motel, each nursing sharp, private pain. On the same day Rob has two astonishing encounters: first, he stumbles upon a caged tiger in the woods behind the motel; then he meets Sistine, a new classmate responding to her parents' breakup with ready fists and a big chip on her shoulder. About to burst with his secret, Rob confides in Sistine, who instantly declares that the tiger must be freed. As Rob quickly develops a yen for Sistine's company that gives her plenty of emotional leverage, and the keys to the cage almost literally drop into his hands, credible plotting plainly takes a back seat to character delineation here. And both struggle for visibility beneath a wagonload of symbol and metaphor: the real tiger (and the inevitable recitation of Blake's poem); the cage; Rob's dream of Sistine riding away on the beast's back; a mysterious skin condition on Rob's legs that develops after his mother's death; a series of wooden figurines that he whittles; a larger-than-life African-American housekeeper at the motel who dispenses wisdom with nearly every utterance; and the climax itself, which is signaled from the start. It's all so freighted with layers of significance that, like Lois Lowry's Gathering Blue (2000), Anne Mazer's Oxboy (1995), or, further back, Julia Cunningham's Dorp Dead (1965), it becomes more an exercise in analysis than a living, breathing story. Still, the tiger, "burning bright" with magnificent, feral presence, does make an arresting central image. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7636-0911-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2001
BOOK TO SCREEN
Fans of Cameron’s Huey and Julian stories (More Stories Huey Tells, 1997, etc.) are in for a treat as Gloria, their friend from those tales, gets a book of her own and graciously allows the two brothers to share it . In the first tale, Gloria makes a wonderful card for her mother, but the wind blows it away and it ends up in the cage of a cantankerous parrot. Thanks to Mr. Bates, Huey and Julian’s dad, the day is saved, as is the burgeoning friendship that Gloria and the boys have struck up with new neighbor Latisha in the story, “The Promise.” In another story, Gloria has to deal with a huge problem—fractions—and this time it’s her dad who helps her through it. Mr. Bates proves helpful again when the group trains an “obsessed” puppy, while Gloria’s mother is supportive when Gloria is unintentionally hurt by her three best friends. The stories are warm and funny, as Gloria, a spunky kid who gets into some strange predicaments, finds out that her friends and wise, loving adults are good to have around when trouble beckons. Great fun, with subtly placed, positive messages that never take center stage. (b&w illustrations) (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: March 9, 2000
ISBN: 0-374-32670-3
Page Count: 93
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
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